NASHVILLE— On the celebration of its eighth anniversary, the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation today announced strong second quarter results, including a record December and a whopping $78.2 million raised for state education programs, an increase of nearly $5.8 million representing an impressive 8% growth over the same quarter last fiscal year.
Driven by continued growth in instant tickets, gross sales for December 2011 were the highest of any December, $114.2 million, since the Lottery’s inception in 2004. This continues a trend in which all six months of Fiscal Year 2012 gross ticket sales set similar records, with each month topping the previous high for that month.
Through the first half of FY 2012, the Tennessee Lottery has raised $149.3 million for the state’s education programs, an increase of $10.3 million over the previous period a year ago, a strong 7.4% growth.
The Lottery also announced a new grand total of more than $2.2 billion raised for education programs in the state since it began eight years ago.
In FY 2011, the Tennessee Lottery set state records for sales and proceeds, with an all-time high of $293.5 million transferred to state education programs.
“Another record-setting month together with a strong half-year performance is the perfect way to mark our eighth anniversary,” said Rebecca Hargrove, President and CEO of the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation. “Our strategies to maximize dollars for education continue to pay dividends for the students and families of Tennessee.”
According to the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation, the organization that oversees the Lottery-funded higher education programs, Lottery funds were used to assist approximately 100,000 students at higher education institutions in the state and another 16,000 students in dual enrollment classes. In addition, Lottery funds were also used to support after-school programs across the state.
“We always look to keep the Lottery fun, entertaining and attractive to our players,” added Hargrove. “This year we’ve added a redesigned Powerball game with bigger jackpots, better odds, and more million-dollar winners in Tennessee. And we’ll soon launch an innovative player rewards program, all of which we think will aid our efforts to fund the education programs we support.”
Other details about the Lottery’s first eight years (Jan. 20, 2004 through Jan. 19, 2012) include:

• More than $8.4 billion in gross ticket sales
• Nearly $5.1 billion in prizes won by players
• More than $552 million paid in retailer commissions
• 85 prizes won worth $1 million or more

About the Tennessee Education Lottery
The Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation operates entirely from the revenue it generates through the sale of its products. Net proceeds from sales of Lottery tickets, currently averaging over $5.3 million per week, fund specific education programs, including college scholarships and after-school programs.
Since the Lottery began selling tickets on January 20, 2004, it has raised more than $2.2 billion for these programs. In addition to the educational beneficiaries, players have won over $5 billion in prizes and Lottery retailer partners have earned more than $552 million in retailer commissions.

For more information, please visit www.tnlottery.com. For information about Lottery-funded scholarships, visit www.collegepaystn.com. To see a county-by-county breakdown of the number of students who benefit, visit www.seehowitaddsup.com.